Best of the Small Presses

WordTheatre, the short story performance specialists, casts the perfect actors to bring great contemporary writing to life.

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America. Recorded live at benefit performances for their Fellowships endowment, Volume 1 of this stunning collection contains nine outstanding examples of the short story. Though varying in theme and tone, they share a brilliant pedigree.

• Vincent Piazza reading "Forky" by Andre Dubus III
• Amber Tamblyn reading "The Kiss" by Pamela Painter
• CCH Pounder reading "By Love Possessed" by Lorna Goodison
• Sean Young reading "Not the Plaster Casters" by Janice Eidus
• Samantha Mathis reading "Three Girls" by Joyce Carol Oates
• Robert David Hall reading "The Pass" by Steve Almond
• Amy Irving reading "The Dead Boy at Your Window" by Bruce Holland Rogers
• Jackson Rathbone reading "The Bank Robbery" by Steven Schutzman
• John Heard reading "Tomorrow’s Bird" by Ian Frazier

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox; edited by Sara Bencivenga; mixed and mastered by Theo Mondle; music composed by Greg Chun. WordTheatre gives voice to great writing. We are an innovative, internationally recognized, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring empathy, curiosity, and conversation through powerful and entertaining performances, both live and recorded, of the world's best contemporary literature. We aim to ignite a passion for reading, writing, and self-expression in our community and in future generations.